The Archer's Secret
by AisforAWKWARD
Summary: Five times the team thought Clint was acting strangely, and the one time they found out his secret. deaf!Clint and pairings are listed inside


**Hey guys so I really like deaf Clint and 5:1 stories so here's my own! A shout out to The21stquinn who inspired me to get this done instead of waiting. Anyway a challenge to whoever will take it, please write some more deaf Clint fics because there are not enough! **

**Pairings: established Thane, Pepperony, and Clintasha**

**I own nothing**

1.

BOOM!

Natasha woke up with a start and darted her eyes across the room. Seeing no immediate threat, she carefully got out of bed, making sure she didn't disturb her sleeping partner. She reached under her pillow and pulled out her pistol before beginning a more thorough search of the room. Suddenly, she heard another booming sound coming from outside. She walked over to the window and opened the curtains to see the thunderstorm of the century raging violently outside. The Black Widow sighed and put her pistol away then made sure Clint was still asleep. He didn't wear his hearing aids when they slept together, which showed her that he trusted her fully. She contemplated waking him up, but discarded the thought. After all, it was no use both of them losing precious sleep over a non-life-threatening storm. She allowed herself a small smile while looking at his sleeping form then decided to go to the common area. When she arrived, she found Tony, Steve, and Bruce trying to calm down a very upset Thor.

"I guess I know where the cyclone is coming from now." Natasha announced as she took a seat next to Steve. "Now, what could possibly be upsetting you this much at 3:00 in the morning?"

"I just spoke with my Lady Jane. As you know, she's been in the far land of New Zealand for over a month doing some Midgardian research. That's why I must talk to her at this time of night. Anyway, she has informed me that instead of coming home tomorrow, she must stay for another two weeks!" Thor exclaimed miserably. Another round of booming thunder and flashing lightning came about outside.

"Thor, I know you miss Jane, but destroying New York in a spell of thunder and lightning won't bring her back any sooner." Bruce pointed out gently. Thor looked at his teammates and gave a heavy sigh.

"I know. I am sorry for waking you, my friends. I hope you can forgive me for my foolish behavior." Thor apologized as the storm outside began to calm.

"Of course we forgive you. I understand what it's like to miss someone you love." Steve said reassuringly putting a hand on the Asgardian's shoulder.

"Me too. I mean, Pepper doesn't get back from DC until next week. And I'm sure Natasha goes ballistic whenever Clint's sent on a solo mission." Tony smirked receiving a glare from Natasha.

"Speaking of Clint, where is he?" Bruce inquired.

"Asleep." She said causally.

"How the heck did he manage to sleep through the storm?" The billionaire questioned.

"He's just a really deep sleeper." The assassin replied. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to bed. See you guys at breakfast." Natasha said then left the room. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"She was sure in a hurry to get out of here." He pointed out.

"Can you blame her for wanting to get back to bed? After all, it's like 3:15 in the morning." Steve returned.

"True, but I'm still muddled as to how Clint was able to sleep through the storm. I mean, it sounded like a crowded bowling alley out there." Tony pressed.

"He's just a deep sleeper. Now, I think it's time for all of us to go back to bed." Bruce announced rising from his seat.

"I agree with Dr. Banner. I shall see you all again at dawn!" Thor boomed now back to his usual cheerful self. As the remaining Avengers dispersed to their separate rooms, Tony couldn't help but think there was something the assassins weren't telling them.

* * *

2.

A week later, Clint was in the shooting range early in the morning. He didn't have his aids in because it allowed him to tune out the rest of the world and focus solely on his target. He loved the serenity it provided him as he hit bullseye after bullseye. Tony had built a highly advanced shooting range with moving targets and even fake buildings to climb on to. It was without a doubt the archer's favorite place in the Avengers Tower.

On his way to the gym to do some damage to unsuspecting punching bags, Steve walked by the shooting range. He saw the mini explosion and deduced that Clint was testing some new explosive arrows. He spotted the archer climbing down from a nearby platform then watched as he began picking arrows off of various frozen targets.

"Hey, Clint." The captain called. The archer made no indication that he heard him and continued to pick up his arrows. Steve raised an eyebrow and called his name again, receiving the same response.

"Everything alright, Clint?" Steve inquired, starting to get concerned at the lack of response from the archer. He walked towards him and touched his shoulder. Before he could even blink, Steve found himself on the ground with Clint on top of him holding an arrow to his throat. When recognition shone in the archer's eyes, the captain let out a breath of relief.

"Sorry, Cap, I didn't see you come in." Clint said quickly getting off of Steve and helping him up.

"Are you okay, Clint? I mean, I called your name several times." The captain questioned. He couldn't help but notice that Clint was staring intently at his mouth.

"I'm fine, I just zoned out I guess." The archer explained. Steve looked unconvinced. After all, normally it was impossible to sneak up on either of the two resident assassins.

"Alright, but you do know that you can tell me anything, right? I mean, we are a team." The captain assured. Clint nodded, but he didn't say anything else. Steve decided to let the matter drop for the moment and respect the archer's privacy. However, he still wondered what was going on with their resident archer.

* * *

3.

Clint was really beginning to think that New York had a giant sign on its back that said "Attack me!". After all, it seemed like every other week some other crazy force of evil was trying to take down the Big Apple. This week, it was 7-feet-tall genetically mutated praying mantises attacking Manhattan. They all took their usual posts, which meant Clint was on a rooftop keeping a close eye on things while taking out as many insects as he could with his trusty bow and arrows. They had been fighting for over two hours when Clint heard Steve's voice coming from his communicator.

_"Hawkeye, Widow and I are surrounded and there's a group of mantises headed towards the docks over near Liberty Street. Stark says there are a lot of civilians in that area. We need you over there stat."_

"I'm on it." Clint responded then took out a grappling hook arrow. He shot it into an adjacent building then slid down onto its roof. From there he jumped from rooftop to rooftop until he reached Liberty Street. There he saw five of the mutated insects nearing some screaming civilians near the docks. The archer quickly slid down the fire escape and ran towards the mantises. He shot one with a fire arrow and it burst into flames. He knocked another mantis into the flaming one and they both went down into the river.

"Clear out!" He yelled to the civilians as he took on the next mantis. The screaming people cleared out just in time for more insects to arrive. Clint quickly shot an exploding arrow into the oncoming group then narrowly missed being grabbed by a mantis' front legs. He quickly smashed its head with his bow then began fending off the others. He was down to the last three when suddenly, one of their spike covered front legs found its way into Clint's leg. The archer screamed in pain and dropped his bow before falling backwards into the Hudson River. He tried calling for help, but he suddenly couldn't hear anything. He cursed loudly, realizing that not only his comm was waterlogged, but his hearing aids as well. He struggled to stay above water, but having an injured leg only made it that much harder. Just when he thought he couldn't hold on any longer, he felt strong hands grab him and lift him out of the water.

"Fear no longer, dear archer. I have got you!" Thor declared, unaware that the archer couldn't hear him. He sat Clint down gently against a crate on the dock.

"Man, Thor, am I glad to see you. The water messed up my communicator, so I couldn't call for help." Clint said then winced in pain. Thor nodded in understanding then began inspecting the archer's leg.

"You have quite a wound, my friend. I believe you require immediate medical attention." Clint read from the Asgardian's lips.

"I can't just abandon the mission." The archer said stubbornly. Thor gave a hearty laugh.

"Fear not, Clint, for the Man of Iron has just declared our victory against these vicious beasts. We have won the battle." The god of thunder boomed triumphantly. Clint nodded then gave a relieved sigh when he saw Natasha and Steve coming towards them.

"What happened?" Natasha demanded looking at Clint's leg and his wet body.

"I was fighting those mantises when one stabbed me in the leg. I fell into the river and it messed up my comm. Luckily, Thor found me and pulled me out in time." The archer replied looking directly into Natasha's eyes. She got the message and sat down beside him. Steve knelt down and looked at Clint's leg.

"It's bleeding pretty badly. The quinjet will be here in ten minutes. Do you think you can make it until then?" The captain asked. Clint nodded.

"Trust me, I've been through much worse." He assured.

"Alright, I am going to go help the Man of Iron find the Hulk and bring him back here. I shall return shortly." Thor boomed then shot up into the sky with Mjolnir. Because the demigod had turned away halfway through the sentence, Clint had no idea what he said. Natasha noticed this and signed the rest to Clint when Steve wasn't looking. The three then sat in silence for a few minutes before they were joined by the other three Avengers. Thor was carrying an unconscious Bruce in his arms with Tony following close behind, his Ironman helmet tucked underneath his arm.

"Geez, Katniss, that's quite a scratch you got there." Clint read the billionaire's lips.

"Well, not everybody has a fancy suit of armor to protect them." The archer returned, rolling his eyes. He could tell he was losing a lot of blood from his leg wound because his vision was starting to get fuzzy, which made it that much harder to read everyone's lips. He gave a groan of frustration.

"Don't worry, Clint, the quinjet will be here soon. We'll get you fixed up." Steve assured, oblivious to the real source of the archer's frustration. True to the captain's word, however, the aircraft arrived and landed near them. Paramedics immediately came out and surrounded Clint, making him even more uncomfortable.

"It's okay, I'm not gonna leave you." Natasha mouthed to Clint. He nodded and relaxed a little.

"Did anyone else notice that Clint was acting kind of strangely just now?" Tony asked after Natasha and Clint were gone with the paramedics.

"What do you mean?" Thor inquired.

"I don't know, he was just really tense and was clinging to Natasha like hair to a balloon."

"In case you've forgotten, Stark, the guy did just get stabbed in the leg. He was probably trying not to pass out from blood loss. Now come on, the quinjet's about to leave." Steve said. Tony looked unconvinced, but he followed the captain anyway.

* * *

4.

The ride back to the tower was painful for Clint in more ways than one. He had to get 84 stitches in his leg, which definitely didn't feel too good. Plus, Natasha had to become his translator, which made him feel humiliated even though she was doing her best to be discreet.

"It's going to be okay, Clint." Natasha said/signed when the two were finally alone.

"This is just so frustrating! I can't even have a conversation without your help!"

"Maybe if you would just stop trying to hide your deafness from everyone it would help."

"Everyone meaning the team? I can't tell them, Tasha. Not yet, anyways."

"Why not?" The red head asked. Before he could give an answer, the rest of the team accompanied by Fury walked in.

"How are you holding up, soldier?" Steve asked.

"Fine. I'm supposed to use crutches for the two weeks, but I'll live."

"That's good to hear. Now, I figured we would just do the debriefing in here." Fury said making sure Clint could see him (Natasha had called and alerted him of the situation while Clint was getting ready to get his stitches).

"Of course, we wouldn't want poor Legolas feeling left out." Tony smirked. After that, he and the other Avengers went into a long description of the mutated mantises and the battle. Clint was able to keep up for a while, but soon everyone was talking at once and he got lost. He grabbed his pillow and screamed into it.

"What's his problem?" Tony questioned.

"He just probably just needs to rest. The doctors just gave him pain killers." Natasha offered.

"Alright, I guess we'll come back when we arrive at the tower." Bruce said, still looking a bit confused. After everyone except for Fury and Natasha was gone, the redhead yanked the pillow off of Clint's face.

"They're gone now." She informed. Clint sighed.

"Sorry, I just got frustrated."

"I can see that. Now I'm sorry, Barton, but the tech lab says its going to be tomorrow before they can get new aids for you." Director Fury said. Clint barely kept himself from groaning.

"I understand."

"Good, now don't forget to keep off that leg. I want you back and fully operational as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir." The archer sighed. A few minutes after the director left, Steve and Bruce came in and alerted them that they were nearing the tower.

* * *

5.

Once all the Avengers had made their way inside the tower, they saw that Pepper had ordered them pizza.

"Well, it's nice to see that most of you came back intact. How's the leg doing, Clint?" The strawberry blonde asked. She received no response from the archer, who was staring at the ceiling. Pepper frowned.

"Sorry, he's still a little zoned out from the pain killers." Natasha explained. She elbowed Clint and pointed to Pepper.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" He asked.

"I asked how your leg was doing." Pepper clarified.

"Oh, it's fine. I've had a lot worse." Clint replied with a tense smile.

"Enough talking. Let us all feast victoriously!" Thor boomed.

After they all had eaten, the team decided to watch a movie, much to Clint's displeasure. And to make matters worse, it was Thor's turn to pick, which nine times out of ten meant they were watching a cartoon. This time, the god of thunder chose _Toy Story_. And while that was a good movie, Clint knew he wasn't going to be able to tell what the characters were saying. He was right, of course, and halfway through the movie Clint found himself getting more and more frustrated.

"Are you okay, Clint?" Bruce asked in concern. Natasha nudged Clint and told him what Bruce had asked.

"I'm fine. I think I'm going to turn in early, though. I'll see you guys in the morning." Clint said. Natasha helped him up and handed him his crutches then the archer hastily left the room.

"Man, what ruffled his feathers?" Tony asked.

"He's just had a tough day. He'll be better tomorrow." Natasha promised.

"Silence! I must see if the cowboy and space walker make it back to the Midgardian child Andy!" Thor declared.

* * *

+1

The next morning, all the Avengers Tower occupants except for Clint and Natasha were in the common room talking when the sound of JARVIS' voice filled the room.

"Sir, there's a SHEILD agent downstairs with a delivery for Agent Barton. Shall I send him up?" The AI asked. Tony gave his approval and a minute later the elevator opened to reveal a young agent carrying a small box.

"I have Agent Barton's new hearing aids." The boy announced. The team exchanged confused looks.

"What do you mean, hearing aids?" Tony asked.

"I understand that Agent Barton's hearing aids were damaged in yesterday's battle. I have his new ones right here." The young agent clarified holding up the box. Bruce stood up and took the box from the young man then dismissed him.

"Why would Clint need hearing aids?" Steve asked.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling that we weren't supposed to find out." The doctor replied.

"I think we need to talk to Natasha." Pepper suggested. They had JARVIS call her and the red headed assassin arrived a minute later.

"Agent Romanoff, would you care to explain why a SHIELD agent just dropped off a pair of hearing aids for Clint?" Tony questioned motioning to the box in Bruce's hand. Natasha's eyes hardened a bit.

"Why do you need to know?" She inquired.

"Because he's our teammate and we care about him." Steve clarified.

"Whatever it is, you may confide in us with great confidence." Thor added. Natasha sighed.

"Fine, but I'm not the one who's going to explain it to you. I'll be right back." She said then disappeared back down the hall. She went into the archer's room and found him laying on his bed. She tapped his shoulder.

"Clint you have to tell them now." She said/signed.

"Why?" He questioned.

"Because whatever idiot agent Fury sent to deliver your new aids gave them to the others and explained exactly what they were." Natasha replied.

"What did they say?"

"They want to know what's going on. It's time you told them anyway, Clint. I mean, they are your team and like it or not, they really care about you." The assassin pointed out as she sat down on the bed next to Clint, being careful not to jostle his injured leg.

"But what if they think less of me or pity me? What if they think I'm a liability?"

"They're not going to do that. If Fury thought you were a liability he wouldn't have put you on the team in the first place. Besides, if they have a problem they can take it up with me because the two of us are a package deal." Clint smiled a little.

"Have I ever told you how amazing you are?" He said before pulling her in for a kiss. After a few moments she pulled away and made him look at her.

"Come on, the team's waiting. And don't worry, you'll be with you the whole time." She said. She helped him get up and get on his crutches then led him down to the common area where the rest of the Avengers and Pepper were still waiting.

"There you guys are. I was beginning to think you two escaped out the window or something." Tony teased. Bruce handed Clint the box.

"Whenever your ready, Clint." The doctor said with a reassuring smile. Clint looked at the box in his hand and sighed. Natasha took the box from him and opened it.

"Before you say anything, you should probably put these in." She mouthed so that only Clint could understand her. The archer nodded then put the devices in his ear and turned them on.

"Alright, well, as some of you may have already guessed, I'm deaf." He said, trying to sound indifferent. Everyone was silent for a moment before Thor spoke up.

"Why have you never mentioned this before?" He questioned.

"Because I guess I was nervous about your reaction. I've had people try to pity me and even refuse to go on missions with me because they thought I was a liability." The archer explained.

"Well, those people obviously don't realize what they're missing. After all, you are the best marksman on the planet." Steve said with a smile.

"And we all have our different crap to deal with. I mean think about it. I have this light in my chest that I can't turn off without dying. Imagine trying to sleep with a night light strapped to your chest!" Tony exclaimed pointing to his arc.

"After spending seventy years in ice, I woke up to a whole different world. Everything and everyone I ever knew are gone." Steve added.

"And look at poor Bruce. Every time the guy loses his temper, he has to buy a new shirt!" The billionaire said over dramatically, putting an arm around the doctor's shoulder. Bruce rolled his eyes.

"Everyone has their battle scars, Clint. They're what makes us stronger." Thor put in.

"I know, and I should've told you guys earlier. I just already felt like a weak link since I don't have any superpowers." Clint said.

"Well, you should never be ashamed or afraid to talk to us. After all, we're not only a team, we're a family." Bruce assured.

"A crazy, mixed up, dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless." Tony smirked.

"So were you born deaf?" Pepper asked. Clint shook his head.

"I was on a mission for SHIELD about six and a half years ago in Amsterdam. I was surrounded and my only chance of getting out alive was using a sonic arrow. It worked a little too well and I've been deaf ever since. My aids allow me to hear almost normally, but when I fell into the river yesterday they short out. I do read lips when I need to though." The archer explained. Tony scoffed.

"You mean to tell me that the big shot technicians at SHIELD can't even make a waterproof hearing aid? That's pathetic! You just wait, Clint, Bruce and I will make you something much better." He declared.

"Knock yourself out. Just make sure you test them before you give them to me. Wouldn't want to damage my ears or anything." Clint chuckled. Tony nodded then grabbed Bruce's wrist and dragged him towards the lab.

"I'm off to the gym. Be sure to stay off that leg, soldier." Steve instructed.

"Aye, aye, Captain." Clint replied with a salute. The captain rolled his eyes then exited into the elevators.

"What are you going to do, Thor?" Natasha asked.

"I believe Pepper is going to show me how to send my Lady Jane a message over what you call the Internet."

"Yep, I'm going to help Thor set up his very own email account." Pepper clarified.

"Oh, well good luck with that." Clint chuckled. The two assassins then went back to the archer's room.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Natasha smirked as they sat down on the bed.

"As much I as I hate to admit it, you were right." Clint sighed.

"I usually am. I'm proud of you for telling them." She smiled putting her arms around the archer's neck.

"Like I had a choice." He rolled his eyes.

"Still, I think things will be a lot better now that they know."

"Me too." Clint smiled then allowed her to bring him in for a long kiss.


End file.
